NY officials ask to import medical marijuana

NYU Returns to LICH

NYU Langone is back in Brooklyn, after Justice Johnny Lee Baynes dismissed a lawsuit brought by the New York State Nurses Association. A hospital spokeswoman confirmed the center’s return, saying in a statement that “NYU Langone Medical Center is looking forward to expanding our practice of excellent health care at the NYU Langone Cobble Hill facility.” The hospital had pulled out of the deal to take over the emergency department from SUNY after NYSNA filed suit. The union said that NYU Langone did not give its nurses hiring preference for the ED. In his order to dismiss the case Monday, Justice Baynes wrote that NYSNA’s suit “must fail procedurally and substantively."

NSLIJ Gets Into Urgent Care

The North Shore-LIJ Health System has partnered with California-based GoHealth Urgent Care to open 50 clinics in Long Island and New York City. The first two locations, in Massapequa and in Forest Hills, Queens, are set to open in November. The upstarts will have to compete with about 150 urgent-care centers on the Island, including ProHEALTH, based in Lake Success, and PM Pediatrics, based in Syosset. But on a per-capita basis, “in New York patients actually have less access to urgent care than they have elsewhere in the country,” said Dr. Si France, chief executive of GoHealth. “And there's not a strong availability of urgent-care centers that are seamlessly linked with the rest of their care providers.” Dr. France hopes that the NSLIJ brand name and the clinics’ integration with patients’ other providers will attract patients. “If you’ve been to a specialist at NSLIJ or the ED, they’d have access to the same medical record in the urgent-care center,” he said. The partnership is the first time three-year-old GoHealth has teamed up with a large health care system, and also the company’s first East Coast venture. GoHealth plans to build 50 clinics within three to five years, Dr. France said.

Sinai Joins Empire’s Pathway

When Empire BCBS launched its limited Pathway network in 2013, the insurer got some negative tabloid press about the narrowing of provider choices. But Empire just struck a deal to considerably expand that Pathway network. The Mount Sinai Health System agreed to a two-year contract with Empire to join Pathway, which has nearly 49,000 doctors and 83 hospitals that are in-network for New York State of Health or ACA-compliant individual plans. Empire said that the agreement includes a commitment from Mount Sinai for full participation in the insurer’s Quality Hospital Incentive Program. The Pathway Network is a product for Empire members who purchase individual plans off or on the New York State of Health exchange.

They’re Here: DSRIP Applications

New York providers have been anxiously awaiting the state’s release of its draft of DSRIP PPS Plan applications. The materials were posted here for public review and comment from providers, community members and Medicaid enrollees. The public comment period will last at least 30 days; email comments to [email protected].

NY officials ask to import medical marijuana

New York’s senators have asked the federal government for permission to import medical marijuana from other states before New York’s program officially begins. U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand on Monday asked the Department of Justice for a waiver from federal prosecution “in the rare cases where medical marijuana is imported between two states with legalized medical marijuana, and the amount is small, finite and prescription-based.”

The letter follows a request last week from Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, who asked for permission to import cannabidiol, the active ingredient in medicinal marijuana that has been shown to be particularly helpful to children with epileptic disorders. Dr. Zucker stressed that the importation would stop once New York’s program is up and running—a process that would take at least a year.

If the waiver is granted, it would be the first time that medical marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, crossed state lines.

“No one has even requested this,” said Evan Nison, a co-founder of the New York Cannabis Alliance and executive director of NORML New Jersey. “If the federal government does approve it, it sets a new precedent.”

Given the unique nature of the request and that New York’s medical marijuana regulations have not yet been written, the logistics of this importation would be uncertain. Dr. Zucker said that only producers with “sufficient moral character” who complied with the laws of both states should be considered. But advocates hope it’s an opportunity for resigning Attorney General Eric Holder to make a statement.

“He’s already said a few pro-marijuana statements on his way out the door, questioning the scheduling of marijuana on the same day he announced his resignation,” said Mr. Nison. “There’s much less risk of a political backlash for him.”

Allowing interstate transport of medical marijuana for critically ill patients is one of three points medical-marijuana advocates are pushing for this session, Mr. Nison said. The groups are also hoping to expand the number of companies that will be licensed to grow the medicine (currently five), and to expedite the licensing of at least one of them.

At A Glance

PAYMENTS: CMS today unveils to the public the Open Payments System, documenting payments providers receive from different sources. Watch for updates here.

CODING: The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System yesterday announced a new business unit, HealthForce, that will generate revenue by helping other providers comply with ICD-10 medical documentation and coding procedures. The unit has about 100 experienced coders. ICD-10 kicks in on Oct. 1, 2015, affecting coding, billing and reimbursement procedures.

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